Because footing doesn't always include running
by Di-Bee
Summary: Today was the first time Ashley Magnus was ever wearing a dress, willingly. It was also the last, she would make sure of that.


**Title**: Because footing doesn't always include running

**Author: **DiBee (di_50)  
**Characters/pairing: **Ashley/Henry, Helen, James  
**Rating**: K  
**Warnings (if any): /**  
**Challenge: **First times  
**Summary:** Today was the first time Ashley Magnus was ever wearing a dress, willingly. It was also the last, she would make sure of that.

**Author note : **Not exactly my usual pairing. Pre-series. (Both Ashley and Henry in their -late- teens) Written for the first prompt of sfaflashfic. (The first story I've written for this prompt, but it took me a while to decide whether to actually post it or not.)

Ashley hated that kind of occasion. Everyone had to dress 'properly' and her mother's definition of what was proper differed highly from hers. If the immortal could look stunning in about any dress, Ashley was more about anything practical, that wouldn't restrain her movements if she had to fight.

The other problem was... the 'fighting' part. Today, she was supposed to put up with another kind of fight. Dancing. Meaning each and every poor guy she'd get to dance with would have to cringe as politely as possible each time she would step on their toes. Because she was Ashley Magnus, had very good coordination for all things combat, but really, dancing? That was a far cry from her usual abnormal fight. Her mother had tried to teach her, and had manage to teach her how to use any weapon she could think of, but a dress seemed to be a far too complicate weapon, even for her fast learning daughter.

Yet... Here she was, wearing a dress, with stilettos -hell, stilettos!- and she really couldn't understand how her mother could walk, let alone run, or even fight in those. Those were weapons by themselves, for the wearer as much as whoever came to meet the heels. Ouch.

A small smile crept on Ashley's face as her eyes met Henry's. He looked as uncomfortable as she did, but she would have gladly traded his suit against her dress. Well, she was no fan of that kind of suits, but just in case there was a fight to take part in... She chuckled as her mind made up an image of poor Henry wearing a dress, and simply took the arm he offered. He couldn't dance any more than she did, they had just planned to stick together in a dark corner. None of them was afraid of the dark, especially not of what could come out of it, and it really was no issue for either of them.

Obviously, it was for her mother. Ashley sighted a she spotted said matriarch walking toward them, not looking too enthralled at their hiding away.

"Ashley!" It was just one word, but meant a lot more.

"Mum, we can't dance!" She had taken to defend Henry as well, who didn't like being on the opposite side when a fight of any kind involved the older Magnus.

"Well, if you do not try, it won't improve either." There was a smile on Helen's face, and simply seeing the both of them, dressed up and visibly sulking, didn't help with her wanting to direct them toward the dancing area. There were great chances that she would find them in another corner some time later, talking guns or whatever young people of that age talked about these days.

"Mum, improvement, at our stage, would still mean you having to patch up people."

This time, Helen frankly laughed at her daughter, Henry's sheepish look making the odd pair look like some teenage couple caught making out in a dark corner. The thought had Helen shake her head and give just one more advice before she disappeared :

"Have fun, at least."

She heard her daughter puff and shook her head once more before James asked her for a dance, a smile on his lips, visibly aware of what conversation had just taken place in the far corner of the London Sanctuary's ballroom. Ashley was really incorrigible.

He didn't see Henry's hand slip back in Ashley's, who gently squeezed it. There was no way they were going to dance with all the guests. However, she was not against a slow, as long as they kept their feet for themselves.

Today was the first time Ashley Magnus was ever wearing a dress, willingly. It was also the last, she would make sure of that.


End file.
